GRIFFIN SHEA, Harare | Thursday ZIMBABWEAN President Robert Mugabe vowed on Wednesday to continue his controversial land reform scheme, and told former colonial master Britain to stop meddling in the nation’s affairs, in a speech marking Zimbabwe’s 21st anniversary. “We cannot be seen, as Zimbabwean sons of the soil, to be begging a former colonial […]

THE Crisis Committee set up after 43 soccer fans were killed in a stampede at Johannesburg’s Ellis Park last week has paid more than R500_000 to families of victims. The South African Football Association (Safa) and Premier Soccer League, who established the interim body, said in a joint statement late on Wednesday night that a […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Bujumbura | Thursday JUNIOR officers who occupied the state radio station in Burundi and claimed to have overthrown the government surrendered on Thursday, the defence minister announced. A statement from Defence Minister Cyrile Ndayirkiye was read on state radio on Thursday morning and regular programming resumed, indicating that the soldiers who took over […]

THE SA government and pharmaceutical companies have reached agreement over the issue of pricing of Aids drugs, the Swiss Interpharma association was reported as saying in Basle, Switzerland on Wednesday. Interpharma chief executive Thomas Cueni said the agreement would also mean the withdrawal by companies of legal action in Pretoria against government legislation, The Star […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Pretoria | Thursday INTERNATIONAL pharmaceutical companies on Thursday dropped their court bid to prevent South Africa from importing cheap copies of their patented Aids drugs. ”With the consent of all parties, I simply ask to notify (that) the application is withdrawn,” Fanie Cilliers, lawyer for the 39 drug firms, told a packed court, […]

RAMPANT smuggling of tea into Ethiopia has threatened thousands of jobs and prevented the sale of millions of dollars’ worth of the leaf, authorities said on Monday. “The huge amount of tea produce smuggled into Ethiopia from the neighbouring countries has reportedly caused 30m birr ($3.57m) worth of locally produced tea to be accumulated in […]

A MALE “hitchhiker” disguised as a woman – with a baby on his back – robbed a motorist of his vehicle and cash in eastern South Africa, police said on Tuesday. The 27-year-old victim, Thulani Khumalo, said he stopped to pick up the assailant, who produced a gun and forced him out of his four-wheel-drive […]

UGANDA loses up to $115m through corruption in the government each year, an NGO report released on Monday said. The Uganda Debt Network (UDN), which is campaigning for a reduction of the country’s foreign debt, said its report was compiled from careful scrutiny of official reports of the Auditor General, which it said exposed “just […]

A TANZANITE processing plant belonging to South African gemstone company (Afgem) was bombed in Mererani in Tanzania’s northern Arusha region at the weekend, said Arusha Regional Police Commander Alfred Tibaigana on Tuesday. He said no one was injured in the blast, but that the plant was extensively damaged. Tibaigana said that about 20 people had […]